The future of country lies in constructing prefab houses

Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL) was incorporated in 1953 and during last 59 years, the company has built a wide spectrum of civil engineering structures using both conventional as well as prefab techniques. It has also supplied components for the building industry and the national railways. Its chairman and managing director, Jaiveer Srivastava spoke to Hindustan Times on a range of issues. Excerpts:

What are the recent projects HPL has completed?HPL completed various projects such as 100-bed model hospital at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh for ESIC, an integrated complex for Delhi Police at Mandir Marg in New Delhi. It has also recently completed a "pilot project of 1000 houses for IDPs" in northern Sri Lanka. The project was funded by the external affairs ministry.

The department of public enterprises has conferred 'BRPSE Turnaround Award -2011' to HPL. The Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) has also conferred the "outstanding public officer" award to me for the commendable work done by HPL in Leh and Ladakh.

How was your experience in Sri Lanka?The first pilot project undertaken on behalf of ministry of external affairs of the Indian government was the construction of 1,000 houses and is spread over the eastern and northern parts of Sri Lanka in districts such as Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mulaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya. Though the project was simple, the logistics were tough and availability of raw material was scarce. However, in spite of all odds we completed the project.

How has been the state of the finances of the company during 2011-12?Once again the company has ensured remaining profitable, consecutively for the fourth year ending 2011-12.

What are the prestigious projects your company has secured in the recent past?The HPL recently secured one of the most important prestigious projects of construction of casting yards at two locations and earthwork for the Metro Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA), National Institute of Technology (NIT), Dimapur, Nagaland, police stations on India - Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh, and Q-Complex of Deoghar Temple in Jharkhand among others.

What have been the company's activities on the corporate social responsibility front?HPL has successfully convened the first national conclave on CSR organised by the department of public enterprises (DPE) at Leh. It was attended by 42 CEOs and directors of various central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) for the on-the-spot assessment of infrastructural need of that strategic area.

Further, we have added toilet-cum-bathrooms to houses in the Solar Colony Leh-Ladakh constructed by HPL. CSR work for Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for expansion and renovation of an existing heritage municipal hospital in Baranagar, Kolkata is also underway.

What initiatives has HPL taken towards relocatable prefab structures and other innovative technologies?HPL is executing various relocatable prefab structures for paramilitary forces especially for the CRPF in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar among others. We are using "Shear Wall" technology with thermal curing --a fast track technology-- for KMDA for construction of houses in Kolkata.

What's the road ahead for prefab technology and HPL?The pace of infrastructure development will continue in the country in the next several decades. The future of the country is "prefab construction" and it seems to be bright.